Cinder T. Cat

This is Cinder The Cat. He was a stray who found me before the winter
of '93 at my last house in Madison. I was playing a game of
Cosmic Encounter with
some of my friends when I heard a rhythmic meowing. I went to my
room and found Cinder staring inside meowing in
perfect 4-4 time.

I brought him inside, the poor guy almost ran away from me when I opened
the door, but after talking to him he decided that the warm inside would be
better. When I found him he was fully-grown but he only weighed five
pounds. He was so underweight that his skin was stretched over each of
his ribs. Evidently he had been stray for about a month but he didn't have
his front claws. He's quite fat these days. He's got a big tub of jello
under his belly - it just kind of sloshes around when he walks. The above
picture has not been stretched or modified - notice the size of his head
compared to the rest of his body.

Anyways, he was so happy to have a home and affection and food that he's
decided to stick around. That's kind of an understatement - this cat
is a perfect example of co-dependency. He desperately needs to be
held, so he's in a good household these days. Just a few days ago I
held him down to clip his nails and he started purring just from the
joy of being held. He's a good cat.